Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Derbyshire

Inspection report children's home: SC433430 1 SC433430 Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children’s home. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children and young people. The main house can provide care for two children or young people and the cottage annex can accommodate one child or young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people have strong, trusting and meaningful relationships with staff. Inspection report children's home: SC433430 2  All young people feel that they are looked after well.  Importance is given to the voice of the child. Young people routinely comment on how they are cared for and are involved in the decisions about their future.  Young people’s school attendance has increased, enabling them to make good academic progress.  The promotion of hobbies and interests ensures that young people participate in activities that they enjoy immensely, while building their confidence, self-esteem and positive friendships.  Staff know how to keep young people safe. As a result, individual risks to young people have reduced.  Young people respond well to the nurturing and consistent care provided through individual daily routines and clear expectations and boundaries.  A diverse staff team promotes positive role-modelling for young people.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff feel well supported and receive good training opportunities.  Staff work proactively with professionals and agencies to ensure that young people receive the best support to enable them to make continued progress.  The manager and senior team drive improvement in the home by aspirational leadership, leading by example.  Developing the staff team is given high importance.  Robust monitoring exists, and this includes an extremely strong focus on young people achieving their individual goals and milestones.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The facilities in the utility area and bathroom are showing signs of wear and tear. This includes the decoration and floor coverings.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/05/2016 Full Good 11/04/2016 Full Inadequate 11/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/08/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children's home: SC433430 3

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, and a domestic environment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, ensure that the floor covering and the decoration in the utility area and the bathroom are maintained to a good standard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person said: ‘I did not think I was going to like living here. But I was wrong – it is the best. I have settled in so quickly. I think this is because the staff are great. They are caring and kind, explain things and they don’t judge me.’ Another commented: ‘This is a great place to live. I get on with all the staff. I do have those who I am closer to, like my key worker.’ This demonstrates that young people quickly establish positive, strong and trusting relationships with the staff who care for them. Young people respond well to their planned admissions into the home. A young person said: ‘We came to look round first. Staff explained about the home, the rules and about what to expect.’ This helps and supports young people to settle into their new home and reassures them about any concerns that they may have. Young people benefit greatly from well-planned, nurturing and individualised care. They

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

are actively involved in making decisions about their meals, weekly activities and appointments, influencing how they are to be cared for. Additionally, consistent care and daily routines promote a safe and secure environment in which to live. Young people receive routine health checks and, when needed, access professionals to support their emotional well-being. They take part in regular physical activity and are involved in planning a well-balanced diet. This promotes a healthy lifestyle for young people and improves their long-term health and well-being. Staff help young people to understand the importance of education. They provide guidance and support to enable them to manage new situations, control their emotions and adhere to rules and boundaries. This has resulted in great improvements in their school attendance and learning, and further increases their opportunities in training and employment as young adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Social and leisure activities are part of everyday life at the home. Young people plan how they wish to spend their time. Each has individual hobbies and interests. One young person said: ‘I go trampolining a few times every week. I’ve made new friends and so it’s good to meet up with them‘ and ‘Staff are looking into me going horse riding. I really want to do this.’ Staff support each young person to care for their pets. Inspection report children's home: SC433430 4 Young people enjoy having friends and family routinely visit, and their friends enjoyed having lunch with them at the home during the school holiday. Consequently, young people develop good social skills and friendships, and increase their self-esteem and confidence. Young people participate in independence skills, such as household chores and learning to cook. This provides them with age-appropriate and essential self-care skills in preparation for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy regular contact with those who are important to them, especially those who live a distance from the home. Staff build strong and positive relationships with young people’s family and friends. This ensures young people have a strong sense of identity and a feeling of belonging, and maintain important support networks. A young person said: ‘It’s my birthday this weekend and my dad and others are coming for a party, it’s going to be good.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people flourish because of the nurturing approach and positive role-modelling of staff, and the strong focus on their own positive behaviour. They respond to frequent praise, and the incentives put in place to help them achieve and succeed. There is close monitoring of physical interventions and sanctions, which are appropriate for the behaviour presented and in recent months have reduced in number. This is a result of young people responding well to the clear, consistent care, expectations, rules and boundaries delivered by staff. Staff implement safe practices and strategies in line with the missing from care protocols. In addition, safe and well checks and return home interviews take place routinely. This has resulted in the reduction of episodes of missing from care and risks to child sexual exploitation. In recent months, there have been no missing from home events. Young people say that there is no bullying at the home and staff would not allow this

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

to happen. Staff have a strong understanding of the individual risks for each young person in their care. They work closely with young people to help them recognise the dangers to themselves, and to give advice and solutions to reduce these risks. This approach works extremely well for the young people. Risk-taking behaviour has reduced, and this keeps them safer. Young people live in a safe and well-maintained environment, with all rooms personalised to provide a homely setting. Young people said: ‘I like the house’ and ‘I really love my bedroom.’ However, in the utility area and main bathroom there is wear and tear to the decoration, rippling of a floor covering, marks on the walls and a missing mirror. This detracts from the overall positive environment in which young people live.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has a wealth of experience in management and in caring for children. She holds a social work qualification and is currently undertaking the diploma level 5 in leadership and management. She leads by example and conveys her high Inspection report children's home: SC433430 5 aspirations for the children in her care to the staff team. This ethos disseminates to all staff and forms part of the home’s aims and objectives. This enables young people to make continued progress, achieving their care planning goals and milestones. Young people benefit immensely from the clear vision that the manager has to make certain that they succeed. She ensures that young people receive individualised, tailored care, enabling staff to actively respond to each young person’s identified needs. This is achieved because the staff team is a highly trained, dedicated, stable, diverse and child-focused unit that works cohesively to meet the needs of young

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

people. Staff access a wide range of training. The majority hold the diploma level 3 in caring for children and young people, and all mandatory training areas are kept up to date. In addition, staff have undertaken more specialist training, including in mental capacity, child sexual exploitation, self-harm and child attachment. Staff are provided with excellent supervision, including the extensive use of reflective practice which empowers them to learn from experience. This equips staff exceptionally well to meet the needs of young people, and guarantees that the quality of care continues to improve for young people. Young people respond well to the frequent consultation about the care they receive. They regularly read and comment on the records made about their care. In addition, young people give their views at the weekly residents’ meetings, during direct-work sessions and at their statutory reviews. A young person said: ‘We are treated as

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

individuals here. We give our views and we are listened to. This is a good place to live.’ Professionals consistently report that there are excellent working relationships, with frequent communication to best support and care for the young people. A social worker said: ‘I get weekly updates, calls and emails from the staff, keeping me well informed on how X is doing. X has come on in leaps and bounds since living at the home.’ Wide-ranging and detailed monitoring systems exist internally and externally. The service is proactive and regularly consults with professionals to gain their views on the quality of care provided. This provides feedback on what the home does well and what it could improve on. The delivery of an array of monitoring systems, and direct supervision, provide robust auditing of the care of young people. The manager’s awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the service makes certain that decisive

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

and effective action is taken to remedy the deficits identified.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people, and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after. Inspection report children's home: SC433430 6 Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how

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Information about this inspection

well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children's home: SC433430 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper DE56 0RN

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Inspector

Debbie Foster, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC433430 8 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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